Utilization of peat.



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THOMAS RIGBY, OF DUMFRIES,'SCOTLAND, ASSIGNOR T WETCARBONIZiNG- LIMITED,CF LONDON,'ENGIJAND. I M

UTILIZATION or FEAT.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may Concern:

Be it known that I, THO AS Riser, a subject of the King of GreatBritainand Ireland, and a resident of 61 Loreburn street, Dumfries,Scotland, have invented "certain new and useful Improvements in andRelating to the Utilization of Peat,of which the following iscaspecification. p t

This invention relates to the utilization of peat and in particular byprocesses of heat treatment thereof such as Ekenbergs wet carbonizingprocess and recent modifications thereof.

When excavating peat'from an undrained or very wet bog we find that asthe size of the excavation increases numerous difficulties presentthemselves. Thus, for a variety of reasons the level ofthe water in theexcavation may vary and render excavation more difficult, or where theexcavation is conducted from a floating excavator and the peat fedthrough a floating pipe line waves may be set up in stormy weathersufficient to damage the pipe line or other gear. In anyevent thereclamation of the land for agriculture is held up while the deposit isbeing worked out.

In addition to avoiding the difliculties above indicated the methodsdescribed below and in which press effluent from the installation fordewatering the peat is returned to the excavation being worked possessmany advantages. Apart from the specific accelerative action of thematters in the eflluent on the wet carbonizing reaction when the rawpeat'mixed with efliuent is passed to the factory and the benefits ofraised water level in the excavation and of a lowered minimum workingtemperature in frosty weather due to the warmth of the effluent acertain amount always remaining therein), there arises the particularbenefit that in the event of shortage of water in the particular cellbeing worked water from the last excavation can be pumped in and in anyevent the last cell or one or more of them can be used as water storefor general purposes. r

It will be understood that if the cell walls are suficiently thick theyare for all practical purposes impervious to water and allow of widelydifferent water levels existing in adjacent excavations.

In carrying this invention into effect in connection with a wetcarbonizing process,

Application'filed m i1, 1914. Serial No. 850,484.

Specification of Letters'Patent. Patented Feb, 8,1916,

the peat is gathered by an excavator float- 111g in the water in theexcavation,and after maceration pumped through a pipe line floating inthe excavation. I The gathering is interrupted when the desireddimensions ofythe excavation have been attained, and

work is commenced on a new site to which the excavating plant may bemoved by forming a narrow channel to the new site and 'damming it upwhen the plant has been floated through. When the succeeding excavationattains the desired dimensions the operation of removal to another sitecan be repeated and the site thus worked out in the 7 form of a seriesof cells.

.A shortage of water in the cell being worked is more or less overcomeby the return of the eflluentsome 90% or less of the original water-tothe cell and any quantity still required can be made up from one or moreadjacent worked out cells. In this way the effluent can be graduallydisposed of without danger .of nuisance as might occur,

Having now described my invention what v I claim as new and desi're tosecure by Let- .ters Patent is l. A method of gathering and preparingthe peat of Waterlogged deposits for fuel consisting in excavating thepeat from a particular point, subjecting the excavated peat to heattreatment adapted .to render the water more freely expressible, pressingthe treated peat to dewater it, changing the region of excavation whilethe first cutt ng is still relatively small, effecting a separate andrelatively small excavation at another part of the deposit, continuingworking out of the deposit in a series of like small and independentexca'vationsand returning to the excavation being worked, waterexpressed from the heat treated peat; as and for the purposes set forth.7 v

2. A method of gathering and preparing peat to be converted into fuel byheat treatment, consisting in excavating the peat at a particular pointthereupon changing the region of excavation While the cutting is stillrelatively small, excavating in an adjacent but entirely separateportion of the deposit, so as to result in entirely separateexcavations, and adding to the liquid in the Working excavation Warmeflluent expressed from peat which has been subjected to the heattreatment.

A method of gathering and preparing peat to be converted into fuel byheat treatnent consisting in excavating the peat at a particular pointof the peat deposit thereupon changing the region of excavation Whilethe cutting is still relatively small, excavating in an adjacent butentirely separate portion of the deposit so as to result in l Vitnesses:

BERTRAM H. Mx'r'rnnws, H. DUNWORTH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Gommissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

